Rose of Light
by ShadowBasher
Summary: As the keepers of the Emeralds congregate in the heavenly realm, one is missing. The only other place she could be is on Earth, and with a new kind of darkness rising on the planet, is it too late to try and save her?
1. Chapter 1

Prologue – Task at Hand

Everything has a beginning, no matter what we may think of it or how we try to avoid admitting it. Life had a beginning, Earth had a beginning, and so did her elements; it, too, began sometime.

But who were those who took the head among such things? No doubt these elements, when put in the wrong hands, can be hard to control and could ultimately destroy the entire planet. Who has such power to harness such power?

Within an almost completely empty room, containing only a large oval table and seven chairs, a group of well-dressed men and women converse. Nothing really important; just the ol' "how's life been?" and "what do you plan on doing later?" kind of mumbo-jumbo. However, these are not ordinary people that congregate at this table. Each have a special task given to them.

First, turning toward a young hedgehog goddess named Dasami Mairu, she possesses the element of Wind, and her whole demeanor resembles it quite well. With her light blue hair combed downwardly, the tips of her quills reach to the tips of her shoulders, while one renegade bang from her forehead covers her right eye. Her light blue eyes glisten as the light from above shine upon it. She dresses as though she were from the era of the ancient Romans of B.C., having her holy white toga drape to the ground. Snug on her arm bears an armband depicting the symbol of her given element, as do those of the remaining ones sitting with her. Being twenty-one in age, she's been admiring a personal friend for almost fifteen years, and he's sitting right next to her.

And that person next to her is the god of Fire, Murdoch the Hedgehog. He keeps everyone in line. He takes the lead among them in important dilemmas and looks out for each and every one's safety. His fur glows a bright red, with his top quill emits a strong yellow color like neon. The rest of his spines have a similar design to that of Shadow the Hedgehog, with the exception that it points like Sonic. The tops of the quills are gray, while the rest are red. His yellow eyes strike fear into his opponents, making them easier to defeat when he needs to get things done quick. He wears only one piece of clothing on his body, and that's his prized gray vest. His blue gloves have been scorched so much by his fire that it's turned navy blue over time. For such a man, he may look nineteen, but in actuality, he's close to turning twenty-six.

Ariel Diambla, on the other hand, has a bigger difference when looking at her and depicting an age. She's the smallest of the bunch, and also the most perkiest of them all. She is the echidna goddess of Water, Earth's most precious and most cherished element. However, one thing is strikingly odd about her, with the exception of her being small. Her fur is easily mistaken for being black when in reality it's a very dark blue, like that of the glow of the early morning hours, before the sun makes its ascent to the heavens in the sky. When that accusation comes up, it's often followed by "she's the Goddess of the Darkness, but she doesn't look dark..." and that gets irritating after awhile. Being the perky little sixteen-year-old that she is, she dresses like one, that's for sure. She wears a light blue tube top, adorned with the finest jewelry for both her arms and her neck, and fitted with a white short skirt. She's glad to wear something she likes, unlike some people, who wear absolutely nothing at all.

Sitting next to her is the god of Earth. No, not the planet Earth. Earth, as in the ground, but saying the god of ground seems dumb. Anyway, the god of Earth's name is Tsuma Himan. He wears...absolutely nothing! He's just an ordinary brown hedgehog, with a long quill protruding in front of him from his forehead. He's the quietest of the them all. Whenever there's a problem, he presents a solution in a calm and concise manner. However, when it comes to saving those he admires, or appreciates, he becomes a raging bull full of power, capable of leveling entire cities with a single blow to the ground. But he's not a quick as the one reclining next to him, with his arms folded.

Enter Mortaku Spark, the echidna god of Electricity. Ever since he saw the vision of Super Sonic from the heavens when he was young, he began to look exactly like him. He, too, wears nothing. With the blinding gold fur and pulsing black eyes, he could actually pass as an actual duplicate of everyone's favorite super-powered blur. But what comes with his electrifying demeanor is his prideful persona. He declares himself as the ultimate being in the universe, even though whenever he declares it, Ariel beats him in four-square everytime! Kinda funny how much he gets devastated really. Unfortunately, one person gets annoyed by his prideful nature, and he had to sit right next to him, too...

Poor Devan Minot, the hedgehog god of the Darkness. He wears a dark brown leather jacket, covering his black fur. His eyes are a moody gray and his quills hang downward. Wearing baggy black jeans and black military boots, he sits in his chair, folding his arms and keeping them close to his body. In some cases, he become a little...you know...emotional and Gothic, concerning his dark nature. He keeps to himself, rarely talks about anything that may be productive, and always has his eyes closed, like he's sleeping. He hates coming to these kind of meetings. 'It serves me no point,' he reasons, but Murdoch makes him go anyway.

And next to him...is an empty seat! One person is missing. Where was the keeper of the Light?

"Have we had any luck finding her?" Murdoch asked to the whole group.

They all shook their heads. "Murdoch, we'vie looked everywhere to find her. But I think it's time to give up," Mortaku reasoned.

Murdoch stared at him, angered by his comment. "How dare you say such a thing! She's part of our family, for fire's sake!"

"Yeah! I miss my big sister!" Ariel added.

Tsuma sighed. "We all miss her, Ariel. But I think Mortaku is right, Murdoch. We have to stop this search. She's old enough to look out for herself."

"No she's not!" Murdoch yelled, pounding his fist on the table. "I was given a great responsibility from Lady Isabella to look after her! She gave me a direct order while on her death bed! I cannot go back on that order!!"

Dasami tried to calm him down. "Murdoch, just calm down. We'll find her and bring her back."

Devan rose from his seat. "It doesn't matter what we decide, in the end we're still going down there and continue searching, isn't that right Murdoch?"

Murdoch muttered, "Yeah."

"See? Well, this was a waste of time. I'm going back to my quarters, preparing the search supplies..." he said, as he walked out.

Everyone else did the same. On the other hand, Murdoch and Dasami stayed in the room. She was getting worried about his temper. "Are you alright, Murdoch?" she asked him.

Murdoch was breathing heavily, calming himself down. "I'm fine...it's just...we have been looking everywhere...and we still can't find her..."

"Don't worry. I bet that wherever she is, she has people down there to help her. She'll be fine for another couple of days," she reasoned, rubbing his back. It was one thing to soothe his anger and stress.

"I hope you're right, Dasami...I sure hope so..."

While on Central City, the morning sun ascends over the mountain range. The rays of the sun pierce through the curtains of the bedroom window and drape over the face of one young pink hedgehog. Her eyes, although closed, squint at the feeling of its invisible touch. She tossed herself the other way with her back facing the light. She snuggled back into her pillow, continuing her dream she kept visioning over and over again.

"My dear Isabella! What is wrong with you?! Are you alright?!"

Isabella coughed. "I fear that my time has come...my love...please...the light inside keeps fading...send for Murdoch at once..."

"I will..." the man told her, holding back tears. The pink hedgehog stood in the doorway, seeing her sick mother laying in bed, breathing heavily. Minutes later, Murdoch arrived on the scene and was surprised to see her in such a condition.

"Lady Isabella!" he exclaimed, rushing to her side. "Are you going to be alright?!"

She turned her head to see him eye-to-eye and slowly smiled. "Murdoch the Hedgehog...You'vie been my long-time friend...You'vie helped me in so many situations I can't number..."

"Anything for the Lady of Light..."

"I ask of you...one...final favor..."

Murdoch came closer to her. "What is it, Lady Isabella?"

"Watch over my daughter...She is to become the next Lady of Light...when she becomes older..."

Murdoch nodded. "I will, m'lady. I shall."

Isabella looked up toward her ceiling. She envisioned her daughter becoming the Lady of Light and always wanted to be there to see her take that position. "The next Lady of Light...My daughter...Amy Mozado Rose...descendant of Lady Isabella Allyssa Rose...truly...a blessing..."

She uttered those final words and soon passed away. The man from before broke into tears as Murdoch knelt next to her bed, head down and eyes closed. Amy walked up to Murdoch and looked into his eyes. Murdoch looked back at her. "Amy Rose...Your mother...has commissioned me to take care of you..."

"What happened to her...?" she spoke lowly.

"She's gone...sickness...overpowered her...there was nothing we could do..."

All of a sudden, she awoke from her dream, her eyes filled with tears, falling onto her pillow. "I...remember...But...why did I come here? What was I supposed to do here?"

End of Prologue


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 1 – Darkening the Light

Meet Amy Rose, a now mild-mannered eighteen-year-old girl living on her own in the outskirts of Central City. Life has been tough for her during the past few years, what with all the battles against Robotnik and his newest incarnations of mechanical doom. Even though she vowed to keep herself at peace and be done fighting for freedom, she occasionally would tag along with the rest of the Freedom Fighters to save the world.

As for her love life, well, she hasn't forgotten about her blue blur, Sonic the Hedgehog. The multitudes of photos remain within photo frames, tacked on the hallway walls. She'll have sensational dreams about the two of them together while she sleeps, provided if that haunting vision of her past doesn't pop up in her mind. However, she's grown more mature about it. While she claims to be Sonic's girlfriend, she won't be chasing him every chance she gets. You won't hear her scream his name in the town square every afternoon. She figured to actually slow it down and let time do its trick.

As she rubs her eyes, she glances at the analog clock on the nightstand next to her. "It's only eight..." she muttered to herself, then collapsed back in bed, laying on her stomach. "I don't start work until eleven...so maybe just another hour..."

Just as she closed her eyes, the phone rang next to the clock. Annoyed, her tired eyes quickly opened and eyed the phone. "Who in the..." she said lowly, reaching for the phone.

Lifting it off the receiver, she answered, "...hello?"

"Morning, Amy. Are you coming by to pick me up?" a familiar voice asked.

"Oh, Cream..." she thought. "I knew I forgot about that...I have to drop her off at school today..."

"I'm coming. I'll be there in a few minutes, alright?" Amy told her.

"Ok! See you then!" Cream replied, then hung up.

Cream the Rabbit, one of Amy's best friends, is now twelve-years-old, just starting her first year at Central City Junior High as a sixth grader. She's been lucky. Over the countless years in helping to save the world from Eggman, they've occurred during her summer vacation, leaving just enough time afterward to prepare for the next school year coming. Through it all, whenever she did need assistance, she always looked to Amy for it, and Amy would gladly give her just that.

"Well...gotta get going..." Amy yawned, getting out of bed. She walked into her closet and grabbed a simple outfit. She began to change into them, tossing her pajamas on the bed, and put on her classic red-and-white boots. Grabbing the car keys off the rack in the hallway, she walked toward the garage and pressed the button to open the garage door. The motor whirred loudly as the gears began turning and turning, raising the door open to the scene outside. The sunlight instantly poured into the area, revealing the vehicle that hid inside, a 2011 V-Tech Powered Lexus IS300 XLS. Pressing the "Alarm Off" button on her key-chain pad, the car flashed both it's parking lights and brake lights twice before unlocking the doors. "I have to remember to get some gas before I head to work..." she mumbled to herself, opening the driver-side door and getting in.

Placing the key in the ignition, she started the engine, resulting in a loud roar echoing in the garage. She put the car in reverse and backed out onto the street, turning toward the direction of Cream's house, which lay nearly five minutes away.

As she drove over to pick up Cream, in the midst of the neighborhood trees, a slouchy figure gives chase, staying out of sight. His piercing red eyes kept its stare on the luxury sport sedan driving on the road in front of him. "That's gotta be her...the so-called heir to the Light...and if that's the case...then those other fools will be coming after her, as well..." he mumbled.

Once Amy turned on the street leading to Cream's home, the figure dropped to the sidewalk, landing on his feet. The figure wore a skin-tight, black, stretchable leather body suit, most likely to reduce drag and noise while sneaking and following targets. He had various quills protruding from his forehead, glistening gunmetal black and holy white in the sunlight. His wrist communicator began beeping, informing him of an incoming transmission. "Marion, do you have anything to report, yet?" a woman asked over the receiver.

"Not quite yet, my lady. However, I'll wait at the girl's residence and nab her there..." Marion replied.

"Do whatever it takes, Marion. We want that girl. She holds the power of the Light, and we desperately need it for our ultimate weapon...Failure is not an option, do I make myself clear?"

"Affirmative. Marion out."

With that, he closed the transmission, then eyed toward the street, in the direction where Amy drove off to. "Soon, my dear, you shall be ours...The Midnight Bandits will hunt you down...and harness your power for our own bidding..." he mumbled to himself, then taking off toward her home.

Meanwhile, Murdoch returned to the city to continue his search. Mortaku and Dasami joined up with him, however Mortaku looked over to the other side of the city for Amy. "We've already looked in this city, Murdoch...Do you really think she'll be here of all places?" Dasami asked.

Murdoch looked around himself. "I'm positive...I felt a strange energy signal from this city, and it had the likeness like that of the light. Then came the power of darkness..." he stopped in his sentence.

"The darkness is everywhere, Murdoch. I'm sur-"

"No...This one's different...the darkness signature is uncommonly high around here...That's definitely a bad sign...I just hope we can find her in time before it's too late..."

End of Chapter 1


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 2 – The Light is Found

"There's no way she could be here...I've looked over this place like a thousand times..." Mortaku thought, as he continued his search for Amy. He looked everywhere; in trees, in hotels, shopping districts, residential abodes, everywhere. Even looking through numerous trash cans! Is it too late to say he's not that bright either? Popping his head out of a local dumpster in an alley, behind one of the local markets, he hung his arms outside the dumpster, head hanging low. "Man...Murdoch is just gonna run us ragged...She's not here...I know it..." he thought.

Just then, as like a shimmer of light, he spotted a luxury sport sedan that held within its frame a pink hedgehog, parking next to a schoolyard, about ten yards from Mortaku's location. He jumped out of the dumpster immediately and tried to get a closer look. He jumped onto a nearby tree that was rooted inside Emerald Park, Central City's most famous park across the street from the school. He tried to focus his sights into the driver's seat where he spotted the girl. The front passenger door opened, with a little rabbit girl and her chao companion walking out of the vehicle. "Thanks again, Amy," she called to her, waving goodbye.

Mortaku's eyes widen in shock. He finally found her! "Wow...it took me a thousand and one times to find her in this city! I've got to transmit this to Murdoch and fast!"

He took out his transmitter watch and sent Murdoch a message that he finally found Amy and he was going to follow her back to where she's been staying this whole time. After completing the message, he began his chase of the Lexus, keeping a safe distance so she wouldn't feel like she was followed.

Meanwhile, as Murdoch and Dasami checked around Central City's beachhead, the transmitter watch began to beep on Murdoch's wrist, catching both of their attentions. "It must be Mortaku. Maybe he found her!" Dasami enlightened.

"I highly doubt it. He may be asking if we can all take a break like we usually do..." Murdoch shot down, opening the watch and playing the message.

"Message one of two," the watch said, "playing now. 'Hey, this is Mortaku. Right now, it looks like it's breakfast time...and I'm getting a little hungry...Even going through the dumpsters here didn't help much...Where do you want to meet up to take a break? Mortaku out.' End of message one."

Dasami cringed in disgust. "Eww...Why would he go and look inside dumpsters?! It's unsanitary! Surely he wasn't going to find her in there, I hope!"

"You know Mortaku isn't bright, Dasami. Of course he's gonna look for her in places like that," Murdoch added.

"Well, if he wants us to join him for a break, he better wash up. I'm not going to stand it! He'll be smelling like the pollution that fills the air here..."

"I know, I know. I'll tell him, just as soon as I hear what this next message is." Murdoch hit another button to play the next message.

"Message two of two, playing now. 'Hey, this is Mortaku again! You're not gonna believe it as much as I do, but I think I found her! I found her parked next to a school, dropping off some rabbit creature who thanked her and called her Amy. This might be the big break we've been hoping for! The coordinates have been sent as soon as you played this message so you'll find out where I'm going. Mortaku, out!' End of message two."

Murdoch's eyes widen in disbelief as he look towards Dasami, who had the same look as well. "He found her?!" Dasami asked to break the silence.

"Who knew?" Murdoch answered, shrugging his shoulders and coping with Mortaku's message. The watch, then, revealed a map of Central City, showing both Murdoch's position, which was a stationary yellow dot, and Mortaku's position, which was a rapidly-moving red dot on the other side of the city.

"Do you think this may be her, Murdoch?" Dasami asked him, thinking he might be following someone else.

"We have no other choice. If what Mortaku said is true, we have this one shot to get Amy back. Let's move!" Murdoch told her, flying up towards the sky and heading towards the Mortaku's position. Dasami began to give chase, hoping to see Amy once again.

The sedan sped along the interstate, with Mortaku in hot pursuit, swinging and landing on the tops of street lamps standing in uniform along the outer concrete. "Gee, she sure lives far, if she's heading home I hope..." he thought.

Soon they were coming to an overpass. Mortaku looked up and then swung himself from the street lamp to the surface of the crossing road above the freeway. He looked over the side and noticed the sedan exiting the interstate. Then he noticed a large semi-truck, pulling a trailer behind it, was exiting there, as well. Without hesitation, he jumped off the side of the road and landed on the top of the trailer, his eyes still fixed on the Lexus in front, stopped at the intersection. The car turned right, while the semi was waiting at the light, waiting for its turn to turn left. He jumped off, hung onto a light post and slid down to the concrete sidewalk. "Well, guess it's time to chase her on foot!" he said to himself, starting his stride after her.

Green light after green light, the sedan kept its speed through each intersection, while Mortaku had to cross the road just before it turned red, sometimes even jumping over lanes of traffic to keep pace with Amy.

As for her, her cell phone in her purse began to ring. She reached for it, taking it out and answering the call, while she came to a halt at a red light. "Hello?" she started, then continued after a long pause. "Oh hey Sonic. What's up?...I'm heading home right now, why?"

Mortaku stopped his stride when he saw she was talking on the phone. "Could she have stopped me?!" he frantically thought. "She might be calling for...oh who are they...uh...the cops, they call them? That's what she might be doing! I better hide!"

He looked around himself in a panic, then hid inside a trashcan, peeping his head out a bit to keep his eyes on the car. "Hm..." he continued, "maybe I can find out who she's talking to..."

In an instant, his eyes turned to a cold icy blue and he was able to transmit the conversation to his mind.

"No, I wasn't partying all night long," Amy replied.

"Well, alright, you must've gotten wasted at the bar then..." Sonic teased.

She laughed, "Now you know I'm not like that. You know me better."

"Yeah, that's true. So where did you go?"

"I just dropped Cream off at school, that's all."

"I see. You have any plans later today?" Sonic asked.

"I have work this afternoon until five. Why do you ask? Asking me out for a date?"

"No I'm not. Tails is inviting all of us over to his home for dinner," Sonic told her.

The light turned green and she began to accelerate back to speed. Mortaku jumped out of the trashcan, startling those around him, and he began to follow, keeping in tune. "He is? That's nice of him. What time does he all want us to be there, Sonic?" she asked back.

"He told me to be there around seven. I guess that's when he expects everyone else to be there, too."

Silence came into the conversation for a bit, then Amy asked him, "Does Tails need us to pick up anything?"

"Nah. He said he has everything set."

"Dress code?" Amy interrogated.

"Casual as always. You know he hates formalities."

"Yeah he does. Well, I'll talk to you later, alright Sonic. It's hard to talk and drive at the same time, you know."

"That's why I never drive. I run. See ya," he concluded, then hung up.

Mortaku's eyes returned to its usual blackness. "A dinner party. I wonder what it's for...Could it be...that they're beginning to sacrifice her to some deity?!?!" he wondered, as he kept chase.

Amy made a left turn onto her street, and Mortaku began to inch closer and closer. "This is bad!! She's in deep trouble!!"

Yards away from her home, Mortaku felt a strong wind gust blow hard on him, like a twister passed by. He stopped just as soon as Amy pulled up to her driveway, then seeing the person who created the gust. Mortaku hid in the nearby bushes across the street, peeking through the bushes to see the two, keeping himself concealed.

Amy turned off the ignition and stepped out the car, only to be greeted by a familiar face. "Hello again, Sonic," she blushed.

Sonic the Hedgehog still kept to his figure. He wore nothing but a pair of white gloves and his favorite red-and-white sneakers. He has grown quite a few extra quills behind both his head and backside, while the older, larger quills from his head began to fade into a sky blue color. He folded his arms and leaned against her car gently, resting his left foot on the side of her car. "I kinda forgot to tell you something."

"What is it?" she asked him.

"Well, Tails wants us over for dinner and to show us his new invention, just to give you a heads-up."

"What invention is it this time?"

While the conversation went on, Murdoch and Dasami located Mortaku within the bushes. "Well? Where is she?" Murdoch asked.

"And can you please take a shower this instant?!" Dasami added, covering her nose.

Mortaku gave her an annoyed look. "Well excuse me, Miss Wind Goddess."

Murdoch looked out to where Sonic and Amy are. "By Jove...There she is! And who's that?"

Mortaku shrugged. "I don't know, man. I guess that was who she was talking to earlier."

Dasami quickly turned her head to him. "Earlier?"

"Well...On the phone...Looks like they're planning on going to a dinner party that some person named Tails is holding."

"A dinner party? Are you sure?"

Mortaku shook his head. "I think it's some ritualistic ceremony. They might be on to us. They're going to offer her up as a sacrifice to some kind of deity!"

Dasami whacked him behind his head, in which he began to rub soon after. "What was that for?!"

"You and your stupid tall tales again. They're not like that anymore!"

Murdoch looked intently at Sonic, watching his every move. "And who do you think this mortal is, Mortaku?"

He looked over and saw him. "Oh, that's Sonic, man. You know. Sonic the Hedgehog? World renown hero? The blue blur?"

Murdoch squinted his eyes. He had an uneasy feeling in his gut. "He looks like trouble..."

A few seconds pass and Sonic stood up. "He also said there was some sort of announcement he was going to make. Something like a discovery."

"A Chaos Emerald maybe?" Amy answered.

"Nah. He said it was something big. Maybe like another civilization."

"Civilization? Another? Is it friendly?"

Sonic shrugged his shoulders, then opened his right hand in front of him, "How should I know? It isn't nothing to worry about, I'm sure."

Amy looked down, shoulders hunched together and hands clasped together. She began to shudder in fear. "The very thought of it now is making me afraid..."

Sonic looked over to her and noticed her fear. He smiled and placed a hand on her shoulder, calming her down. "If anything happens, I'll stop'em."

She managed to crack a smile, but then gave way to shock once a rogue fist impacted his face on the right side, making him skid on the concrete driveway into the lawn. Murdoch stood nearby Amy, his fists clenched with power and his eyes fixed towards Sonic. "How dare you lay a hand on her! You need to know you're place!" he growled.

Dasami, soon, came by Amy's side and immediately embraced her. "Oh my dear. Are you alright?" she asked her.

Amy began to be confused as she asked her that. "I'm...I'm alright..." she replied uneasily.

Sonic got up and looked over to where she was. "Get away from her!" He formed into a ball and sped towards Dasami, until Murdoch grabbed him with his right hand, preventing him from going further.

"Sit down, boy!" Murdoch yelled, then drove him into the lawn, pinning Sonic on the ground.

Amy came out of Dasami's embrace and came over to Murdoch's side, dropping to her knees and grabbing his arm that aided in keeping Sonic down. "Please! What are you doing? Let him go!" she pleaded.

Murdoch looked at her. "Amy, why did you leave our Sanctuary? You know what I told you about this place!"

Amy looked shocked. "I got separated, I swear!"

Sonic opened his eyes and gazed at her. "You...know him?!"

"Of course she knows me! I practically took care of her once her mother died," Murdoch informed.

"Murdoch, please, I'm sorry. I just got lost! Honest!" Amy pleaded.

"Enough, Amy. You're coming back right now! I sensed some eerie evil around here, and I think this hedgehog here is a spy for him!" Murdoch ordered, tightening his grip on him.

Dasami came up to Murdoch. "Murdy, please, let him go. I think Amy wouldn't like to see Death in her eyes right now," she soothed.

Murdoch sighed, releasing Sonic from his grasp and standing back up. Amy came to his side and helped him up. "Are you ok, Sonic?"

In between gasps for air, he wheezed, "Heheh...Never...Better..." He looked towards Murdoch, then asked Amy, "He your guardian angel?"

She nodded her head. "Sonic...I'd like you to meet my guardian...Murdoch the Hedgehog...God of the Fire."

Sonic raised his brow while staring at her. "God? He's a god? You've gotta be joking."

"It's no joke, dear boy. Show your respect when you're talking to the Lady of Light," Murdoch demanded.

"Lady of Light?" Sonic regurgitated. "Ok, Amy, is this some sort secret society you started or joined?"

"No, it's not. It's very hard to explain it all to you..." she replied.

Murdoch interrupted, "Besides, we don't have the time to discuss things. We must leave at once!"

He turned around and got ready to walk off, until Sonic grabbed his arm. "Oh no you don't! I want answers and I want them now!" he demanded.

"Take your hands off me!" Murdoch yelled, throwing his arm out of his grasp. "You'll get nothing!"

Before Sonic could make another reply, the ground beneath them began to quake. "Since when do earthquakes hit Central City?!" Sonic said to himself, trying to keep balance.

Mortaku came out from the bushes over to the group. "Murdoch, something really big and evil is heading this way!!" he shouted.

Murdoch's eyes widen in shock. "The darkness! Mortaku! Dasami! Protect the Lady of Light!" he ordered, preparing for a fight.

Soon, the road in front of them began to crawl with black mist, while a lone figure comes walking down the street towards them. "The darkness I sensed..." Murdoch thought. "It came from him..."

The figure only grinned as he stopped at the foot of the driveway, staring at them intently. He was dressed in an unbuttoned black silk trench coat, which covered most of his gunmetal black fur and dark gray aviator jeans. His glossy black boots oozed out the black mist onto the pavement. The figure raised his two knuckle-gloved hands and let out a smile. "Ah...The Lady of the Light...At last we meet..." he said to Amy.

"Back off, buddy!" Sonic said, standing up next to Murdoch, also ready to fight.

"Who are you?! Identify yourself, you dark creature!" Murdoch ordered.

He let out a small chuckle. "I am the terror that lurks in the shadows...The nightmare that haunts and feeds on your feeble dreams...I am Marion Solaris...Prince of the Midnight Bandits."

End of Chapter 2


End file.
